The exhibits

The eats and drinks

Best for

Our Review

Zoom out. What’s this place all about?LACMA is an encyclopedic museum, meaning it covers a lot of ground in a lot of space. The campus is huge, and a massive $600M makeover by Swiss architect Peter Zumthor should be completed by 2023. Visitors can spend hours traversing LACMA's 20 acres and still not get bored.

Ye shall know them by their permanent collection: How was it?This is one of the more comprehensive art museums in the world, covering art from the antiquities to today, and from every culture. There are galleries for permanent collections on art from North America, Korea, Japan, Latin America, the Islamic world, and Europe. One collection includes paintings from masters like Matisse, Magritte, Picasso, and Rembrandt.

But also by their new shoes. How were the exhibits?In recent years, LACMA has hosted exhibitions on luminaries like James Turrell, Agnes Martin, Marc Chagall, and Toba Kehdoori. These are blockbuster shows, but LACMA also showcases local and overlooked artists like Donald Sultan and Agnes Varda. Not every show is for everybody, but there's always something at LACMA that will take you by surprise.

There is daily programming in the Bing theater, art and technology incubators, music performance spaces, and classes. The curatorial team is world-class under the tutelage of beloved director Michael Govan.

What did you make of the crowd?LACMA gets crowded on weekends and during events, and the crowd varies. As a serious art museum, there can be a studious audience spending time with the art, but as L.A.'s biggest museum, it also attracts tourists, kids, and selfie seekers (particularly around Chris Burden's streetlight installation, "Urban Light"). Thankfully, the campus is big enough that it can be busy, but it's not ever packed. Some exhibitions require reservations well in advance (like the recent Alejandro González Iñárritu VR film) and sell out quickly, so keep that in mind when planning your visit.

On the practical tip, how were facilities?Expect to walk a lot while at LACMA: it's a ways from one side of the museum (the Broad Contemporary Art Museum building) to the other, where the Japanese Art Pavilion sits. Everything is wheelchair accessible, however, and there are plenty of water fountains and places to stop and rest. The best elevator, in the BCAM building, is an artwork by Barbara Kruger called, "Untitled (Shafted)."

Any guided tours worth trying?The docent-led tours at LACMA are excellent, but pricey, adding another $18 to your $20 admission ticket (plus $16 if you park in the underground parking lot). Unless you're visiting with kids (tours are free for 17 and under), it's better to wander the galleries on your own.

Gift shop: obligatory, inspiring—or skip it?The LACMA gift shops (there are two) are some of the few weak spots at the museum. The book store is good for picking up a catalogue of the show you just saw (LACMA produces hefty publications for most of them), but otherwise, you can skip it.

Is the café worth a stop, or should we just plan on going elsewhere?"There are three main spots to grab refreshments at LACMA. Ray's and Stark Bar, both by the main entrance, and café C+M (Coffee + Milk) in the Hammer Building, are run by the Patina Restaurant Group.

Ray's serves farm-to-table Italian-American food like prosciutto-and-parmesan pizza and seafood guazetto. Angelenos often meet up at Stark Bar, even if they're not visiting the museum, for its 12-item water menu and an excellent margarita. C+M offers rich Intelligentsia coffee and pastries."

Any advice for the time- or attention-challenged?If you only have an hour or two (or can't stand being in a museum for longer than that), LACMA is perfect. The temporary shows are easy to do in an hour. The only drawback in those cases is the hefty admission fee.